I was born in London, Ontario, Canada to Stewart McKay (McKay/Bannister) and Mary Oram (Oram/Wood).

Married twice, I have 3 children and 4 grandchildren.

I have 2 University degrees (B.Sc. and a B.Ed.) as well as Accounting, Work Management and Work Measurement certificates.

Starting as a Bank trainee, I worked my way up to a Senior Manager position. I retired in 2002 and now live in Southwestern Ontario, Canada.

Ethnicity

Europe 100%

Melissa McKay is 57% English and Scottish.

Melissa McKay is 15% Irish.

Great Britain and Scotland 57%

Ireland 15%

Europe East 14%

Europe West 6%

Scandinavia 6%

Iberian Peninsula 1%

Finland/Northwest Russia < 1%

Surnames

My Family Tree begins with four (4) surnames and expands from there:

McKay - My father's Father. The MacKay name in Gaelic is Macaoidh (son of Hugh). It derives from the pre 10th century Old Gaelic name MacAodh, with the prefix "Mac" indicating "son of", plus the personal name "Aodh" meaning "fire". It was originally the name of an early pagan god. MacKay can also be spelt McKay, McKee, MacKee, Makee, and Makey.

The Mackays are believed to descend from the ancient tribes that existed in Scotland called the Picts. However the name is also found from ancient times in Holland where the Mackays became noted for their many branches in the region. Each house acquiring a status and influence that was envied by the princess of the region. The name Mackay is also found in Ireland from ancient times when several tribes from the northern area of Ireland, which was once part of one of the ancient Scottish kingdoms known as Dál Riata, moved across the sea to Scotland.

Around 710A.D. a tribe known as the C'nel Lorne left Ireland to land in what is now known as Argyll in Scotland.This tribe is believed to be the progenitors of Clann MacAoidh. The C'nel Lorne are descended from Aedh, grandson of the Irish king N'iall. The Mac Kay clan was originally known as the clan Morgan and the clan Aoidh. The MacKays descend from the Royal House of MacEth.

Although the exact origin of the Clan Mackay is unknown it is generally accepted that they belonged to the early Celtic population of Scotland, although, from their proximity to the Norse immigrants, it is not at all improbable that latterly the two races became largely blended.

The most popular and accepted theory as to the origins of the chieftenship of the Clan Mackay, is that the chief was descended from the Pictish Royal House of MacEth. It is said that his clansmen were originally from Ireland, following two brothers deported after battle loss for the kingship in 335 A.D. They settled in Moray but were dispersed principally north to the Strathnaver region by order of King Malcolm IV of Scotland in 1160 who defeated Malcolm MacEth, Earl of Ross whose daughter Gormflaith married the Norse Harold, Earl of Caithness. Their son was called MacHeth who was raised to the chieftenship of his Clan Mackay in 1250.

The Morgan name has always been an integral part of Mackay since the 13th Century and there is some argument which name came first - Morgan or Mackay. The 2nd Chief, Iye Mhor had a brother Morgan and another brother, Martin from whom come Septs Mackie, McKie, McKee, etc. Iye Mhor married the daughter of Bishop of Caithness and was given large tracts of lands around Durness. Other chiefs followed - Donald, Iye (again), Donald, (both murdered by Nicholas of Sutherland), Angus and finally Farquhar, son of murdered Iye (the third) who was King Robert II's physician and obtained lands of Melness, Hope and other Strathnaver properties. Angus Dhu (the black) 1380-1429 married Elizabeth, sister to Donald, Lord of the Isles. There is thus royal blood in the veins of Mackays. In 1415, Donald chartered lands of Strathnaver to Angus Dhu and his son Neil. In 14th C and 15th C many Septs appeared - Bain (from Gaelic "ban" - white or fair), descended from Neil, brother of Angus 6th Chief of the Mackays. He also provides the Neilson branch and thru his son, the Septs of Paul, Polson, Paulson, etc. and MacPhail with various spellings.

MacKay country was the district of Strathnaver in northwest Scotland.The MacKays were seated there from very ancient times, some saying well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 AD. The MacKay land was the most remote in Scotland and extended from Cape Wrath at the north coast to Caithness border.

The tragic Highland Clearances began in 1782 and continued through the mid 1800's forcibly evicting the Highlanders from their lands.Forced into destitution and in the midst of a cholera epidemic members of the MacKay Clan emigrated to Canada in 1800's. [1]

Bannister - My father's Mother. The last name Bannister derived from the Old Norman French 'banestre', itself a development based upon a conjoining of the Gallic 'benna' and the Greek 'kanastron', the surname is a metonymic job description of a 'maker of baskets'. The carpentry term 'bannister' as meaning a protective rail for a stairway was not recorded before the 17th Century, much too late to give rise to a surname.

The name development and recording of the surname includes An Banyster, christened at St. Pancras Church, Soper Lane, London on July 18th 1559, Annes Bannester recorded at St. Giles, Cripplegate on July 16th 1606, Annis Banister, who married Thomas Cowlay on 31st January 1561 at St. Margarets, London and Henric Bannister who married Eufamia Hoyle at Elland Church, Yorkshire on November 25th, 1583. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Turstan Banastre, which was dated 1153, in the English Feudal Name Register, during the reign of King Stephen, known as Stephen of Blois, 1135 - 1154.[1]

Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

There is a lot of Bannister information available. The basis of my and some other Bannister researchers is a book called The Bannister Family. If your interested in Bannister history it is a great read and only 28 pages. Many members of my Bannister family immigrated from England in the 19th century to mainly Ontario, Canada but the family members are now spread out throughout Canada and the USA, although the highest concentrations seem to be in Ontario and California.

Oram - My mother's Father. Much of the Oram family roots, including my grandfathers, are in various parishes in Sussex England. Immigrated from Kent, UK in 1912. This unusual and interesting name is of Old Norse origin, and is mainly found recorded in the north of England, in particular the areas of the heaviest settlement of Scandinavian invaders. The modern surname derives from the Old Norse personal name "Ormr", in Old Danish and Old Swedish "Orm", which was originally a nickname meaning "snake, serpent" or "dragon". The Olde English pre 7th Century equivalent "wyrm", originally had the same range of meanings. Pre 7th Century Anglo-Saxon, and Norse baptismal names were usually distinctive compounds whose elements were often associated with the Gods of Fire, Water and War, or composed of disparate elements. The personal name was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Orm" in Yorkshire, and in 1175 as "Orum" in Derbyshire. In the modern idiom the surname can be found recorded as Orme(s), Oram, Orum and Orrom [2]

Wood - My mother's Mother. Immigrated from Kent, UK in 1912. This famous and popular English and Scottish surname is of pre 7th century Olde English origins. Recorded in several forms including Wood, Woode, Woodd, Wod, Wode and the locational Woods and Woodes, it derives from the word "wudu" meaning a forest or wood. It was originally given either as a topographical name for one who was resident by a wood, or who in the case of the plural Woods related to a person who was both resident in the wood and who obtained his livelihood from the wood, probably as a forester. The surname is first recorded in the early half of the 13th Century and appears in a great variety of records during that century. [3]

Cemeteries

Below are four lists of cemeteries where a family member is buried. This will change as more cemeteries are added to family profiles.

Sources

Notes on incapacitation or death

To aid WikiTree in the administration of my account should I be incapacitated, or in the event of my death, I hereby give permission for all private profiles I'm managing to be transferred to the following WikiTreers, whether or not they are currently on the Trusted Lists: Seaman-907

DNA Tested
Melissa McKay's DNA has been tested for genealogical purposes. It may be possible to confirm family relationships by comparing test results with Melissa or other carriers of her ancestors' mitochondrial DNA.
It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share DNA with Melissa:

Hi everyone... Source-a-thon started.... woohoo .... during the Source-a-Thon it would be most handy I guess if we all would use our chat, so hope to see you all here and let's get it started ! Good luck and have fun everyone !! And don't forget to use the tracker !

I did sign up for team Flying Dutchman for the Source-A-Thon. I have been participating in the Data Doctors challenges and enjoy this kind of work. Don't know how much help I'll be but will be glad to help!

Thank you for your encouragement Melissa! I did participate in this week's Data Doctors Challenge because it was a relatively easy one, and I saw many different styles as well as learned how to spot errors. I'm very much a detail person and like to do things like this, so I just jumped in and got pretty comfortable with how to clean up references. I've "met" some others on wikitree who have North Carolina connections, including Susie MacKay who is helping with the Canada Project. There sure are a lot of interesting and welcoming people on wikitree!

Greg Lavoie, Dave Rutherford and I have put a lot of work into restructuring the Canada Project. Have a look at the new project page.

You'll see that we've changed the project name to the Canada Project and the badge will be changed shortly. We've done this in order to provide lots of ways for people to contribute to Canadian Profiles. We've also moved towards a team approach with top level teams being lead by Project Coordinators and sub-teams being lead by Team Leaders.

Would you like to continue in the Canada Project, and if so, which team(s) would you like to be on?

Let me know if you have any questions. Once I hear back from you I'll add you to the Google group and get you set up in your team(s).

Yes, he is the one but if you find anything on family trees that is all that the we the family knows. disappeared about 1932/34 !!!! There was another William McLaren in London Ontario same time but another family. Marie

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